One-of-a-kind garden art graces an untraditional backyard. Homeowner, Dave, who has a self-professed black thumb, turned to plastic cast-offs, such as Hula hoops, cheap toys, and pot scrubbers, to add color and life to the yard he shares with his wife and three children.

In a space between a walkway and concrete wall, where flower beds would traditionally lie, 6-foot plastic flowers on neon tubing sprout from the ground. Multi-colored Hula hoops and a playful mulch of marbles and tumbled glass shards surround the base of each sprouting.

Dave's creativity was sparked by his wife's enthusiasm for the whimsical works of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. After hearing of her experiences during a trip to Spain, Dave set out to create a mosaic pillar featuring his children's names.

Dave worked by moonlight, after his children were in bed, breaking up tile and positioning it on a leftover redwood pillar. He confessed that half the time, he'd later realize he'd laid the tile wrong side down because he couldn't see well in the dark.

Dave also used his mosaic skills to make whimsical critters and creatures. This lizard-like sculpture is studded with green and silver glass marble tiles. Tiny blue beads surround his bulging red eyeballs and a plastic forked tongue hangs from his grinning mouth.

Dave recommends experimentation. Because there is no set of rules or instructions, you can let your creativity guide you. Also, using cheap materials makes it much less heartbreaking when something doesn't turn out how you'd hoped.

Dave finds fun and quirky materials at dollar stores, toy sections of box stores, and through surprising sources, such as road maintenance suppliers. Because he doesn't have any formal art training, Dave finds it works best to let the materials inspire his work.

Over time, Dave has created a colorful studio filled with items he's collected: colorful tubing, bits of cheap bits plastic and glass, marbles, sheets of plastic, and anything that Dave might one day reinvent or reuse in one of his creations.

"This is all trial and error," Dave says. When melting plastics with a blowtorch didn't work, he turned to an atypical art tool: his barbeque. Some may have raised their eyebrows at his choice, but Dave was much happier with his results.

Dave suggests letting criticism from others roll off your back. In the end, if you feel happy when you step into your backyard, that's what matters. "Believe me," Dave says, "no one has ever said to me, 'Could you come and do this in my yard?'"

A mosaic circle around the base of a tree provides a cool and shady place to sit. Jagged white tiles surround cute and colorful flowers: teal with orange centers, red with purple centers, and green with yellow centers. A red and yellow border encircles the design.

Many marvel at Dave's imagination, originality, and resourcefulness, but, at the end of the day, he still refuses to call it art. "This is not art. This is just goofiness-- a great big, fun experiment."